Martin Dammann's 'Frauen' at Galerie In Situ/Fabienne Leclerc

German artist Martin Dammann (born 1965, lives in Berlin) presents 'Frauen' at Galerie In Situ/Fabienne Leclerc in Paris, until March 5, 2011, as part of the third Berlin-Paris exchange. Dammann works from amateur photographs, scanning and enlarging them or reproducing them as large watercolors. His series 'Soldier Studies' (2007) uses private photos of cross-dressing soldiers from World Wars I and II, collected from private albums. He scans them in high definition, removes jagged edges, and prints them large, revealing time's traces as aesthetic elements. The series explores masculinity and the hidden face of war: boredom, uncertain waiting, and false joy between attacks. Dammann also creates watercolors from less shocking sources: soldiers resting, families, a rider, a young woman. The figures often stare directly at the viewer. Dammann cites Miroslav Tichý's imperfect photographs as a key influence. He approaches images like a scientist, dissecting them through watercolor, which he likens to the chemical baths of photographic development. The watercolors leave empty spaces, making figures ghostly. Dammann is a consultant for the Archive of Modern Conflict in London.